La Famiglia Italiana Posted by Geoff on Jun 1, 2015
“Don’t ever take sides with anyone against the family…Ever” (Al Pacino – The Godfather). La famiglia is an absolutely fundamental element of Italian culture, and if you spend any amount of time here you’ll soon find yourself being ‘interrogated’ about ‘la tua famiglia’. But how do you describe the family hierarchy, and what if you want to…
Remember! Posted by Geoff on May 28, 2015
In my previous post we touched upon forgetfulness, a subject which is increasingly close to my heart as I become ‘less young’ (sounds better than older, doesn’t it?). So, what am I doing sitting here in front of the computer … oh yes, an article about … wait, don’t tell me, it’s on the tip…
Forget Me Not Posted by Geoff on May 26, 2015
Do you have problems remembering all those convoluted and seemingly arbitrary rules of Italian grammar? I’ve often found that simple mnemonic devices can really help. Here’s a nice easy one in the form of a flower: the humble Forget me not. It’s difficult to trace the exact origins of the forget-me-not’s slightly nostalgic name. Its Latin…
La Canzone del Piave Posted by Serena on May 25, 2015
My grandparents used to live in Via XXIV Maggio (24th of May Road), and that date was an enigma for me in my childhood days. “What is the importance of the 24th of May?” I used to ask myself, “ There are lots of important dates in May: dad’s birthday is on the 6th, dad…
Belgium’s Got Talent … Italian Style! Posted by Serena on May 21, 2015
Un Italiano di 22 anni stupisce tutti e vince il Belgium’s Got Talent (A 22 years old Italian amazes everyone and wins ‘Belgium’s Got Talent’). This is the sort of news title that I usually try to ignore, but then I invariably end up reading anyway. So, after a token resistance, I clicked on the…
Back To The Future Posted by Geoff on May 20, 2015
Expressing the future in the past is an aspect of Italian grammar that causes perennial consternation amongst students. But what exactly does ‘the future in the past’ mean? The future in the past (il condizionale passato) is used to express the idea that in the past you thought something would happen in the future. For…
Is it Art? Posted by Geoff on May 19, 2015
Does anyone really know what art is any more? Artists have always pushed the boundaries, posed difficult questions and challenged our preconception. Perhaps it was always inevitable therefore that the line that divides what we considered to be art from ‘everything else’ would eventually blur and fade. One particular genre that has caused much pondering…